I know as the seller it's against the PayPal user agreement to charge the buyer the PayPal fee but I see more sellers doing so. Does this discourage buyers? Would it be better to just add the 3% to the price? Just wondering...

zonker

I know as the seller it's against the PayPal user agreement to charge the buyer the PayPal fee but I see more sellers doing so. Does this discourage buyers? Would it be better to just add the 3% to the price? Just wondering...

That's been happening since day one.... I would say, at least 50% of the time..... the other thing you see is sellers asking buyers to send funds as a "gift" as to avoid the fee.... that is risky but if it's a small dollar item it may be OK just to make the deal.

It's more enticing for the seller to absorb the fee and a compromise might be for the buyer to pay for shipping......

Been there, done that and old enough to know better.....

zonker

Does this discourage buyers?

Yes it does... the worst part is many will claim higher fees for crap that doesnt exist... the worst is the over the top shipping... many sellers put a low price on the item then make a heavy profit on the shipping and phantom fees, like handling, packaging etc... But the slimeball tactic is have the buyer dump funds into your account only to have the seller start a back and forth about what the total really is... many buyers will comply and get taken for a little more money than they had originally planned.

I agree... make it simple and clear: state what you want and give a total.

showing a preference will only get you into trouble, 90% of everything is crap...

I think about the hereafter. I go somewhere to get something, then wonder what I'm here after ?

What Juan said about sending funds as a gift is very sound advice. One of my buddies and I just got ripped off having sent money as a gift even tho we knew better.
Don’t do it unless it’s someone you trust with your life...

Roy Mayoral

Seeing a for sale thread that says buyer pays the fee and shipping immediately turns me off whether I really need the item or not. You have committed to purchasing the item and then can get hosed on shipping costs, unless it is stated up front as part of the description. Not saying it happens all the time, but it has happened.

When I sell something it always includes the PP fee and shipping (lower 48) in the asking price. I don't want to send or receive money as a gift during a transaction, I will back out of the deal.